When you don't know, you don't know.
I look back at when we brought our first two doodles home as puppies and how much has changed since in our knowledge of dog psychology and training. It's good to look back and see how you have improved/as well as where you can continue to improve. Most of these points are common mistakes we all could/do make, but in becoming aware of them, we can raise better dogs and become better owners. Want a well-mannered puppy that is pleasant past the cute puppy stage? Here's some bad habits you SHOULDN'T encourage if you want a pup that will respect you, your space as well as others.
As Steve Del Savio says: "Most humans get a puppy and spend a lot of puppyhood creating bad habits & nurturing the wrong things, but later on, are confused as to why their dog is so badly behaved." Let's change that, shall we? :)
1. Rewarding Excitement
Perhaps one of the most underrated but important parts of training! Be honest with yourself and examine your interactions with your pet -- are your interactions with them fuelled by hype and high energy? Do you try to get them excited about mealtime, walks, toys, greetings & goodbyes, and then wonder why they won't calm down when you want them to? It's important to pay attention to the energy you exude. Dogs in an excited state of mind are not able to focus as well, pay attention or respect leadership because they are fixated and aroused.
When our litters are old enough that their eyes and ears have opened and can toddle around and sit on their own, we immediately start reinforcing calm behaviour before meals and affection. Once they sit, calm down and are paying attention, they are picked up, given food or affection. It's amazing how quickly they pick up on this! Nothing could be more valuable than to continue this ritual when they go home with their families. Going to the dog park? Make it as normal and almost uneventful as possible. People think by hyping their dog up, it is enjoying life more. That's not how it works. That just creates an unbalanced state of mind that is hard to access.
Wait for calm energy, then reward! Remember: "What you pet, you get."
2. Giving food from the kitchen while you're eating or cooking
I'll be honest with you -- when we first got our two doodles, I really didn't think about any irritating behaviours giving food from the kitchen or your own food bowl would produce. I thought "so long as they are sitting patiently, they can have a piece of the carrot I'm chopping up or the chicken from my plate", but in reality, that encouraged a begging habit, where anytime food came out or anyone wandered into the kitchen, the dogs would suddenly be at your feet, waiting for something to drop.
1) That doesn't teach a respect of your space, and 2) It creates a begging mentality, where whenever food comes out, they fixate and expect it.
This doesn't mean you can never give your dog human food (chicken, a piece of banana, carrot ends or apple cores, etc), but that the kitchen should be off-limits when you're eating or cooking, and they have to respect that. If you want to give them something that isn't part of their diet, retrieve their food bowl, have them wait away from the kitchen or table, and give it to them in their regular eating location.
After all, you don't really want your dog always eyeing up your boyfriend’s pizza, salivating all over the floor whenever you have movie night ;) Manners!
3. Letting them jump up on couches or beds without an invite
There's nothing wrong with your dog being on the bed or couch IF they have been invited.
The problem is when you've always let them invade the space whenever they want to, and then they expect over time (because of the habit this has created) that you are the follower, they are the leader, and the bed is their territory. That's when you have a dog that will growl at your presence on the couch or bed and make you leave it.
This is important to work on all the time, even when your puppy is all fluff and cuteness. It still needs to have times when it doesn't get invited up. It still needs to be told no, not right now. Best time to invite it up is when it's calm and completely uninterested in the territory, because then you're not rewarding a fixated state of mind that just HAS TO HAVE the bed/couch. If they can't relax at your feet, they shouldn't have the couch. It's just that simple! :)
4. Using your hands as a game
At 8 weeks (when most puppies go to their families), their baby teeth have either just come in all the way, or are still popping up. This means they are very inclined to mouth everything, and need to be taught very intentionally from day one that not everything goes in their mouth. Using your hands as a game for them to chase, nibble or play with is a bad idea. It teaches them to bite and mouth your body as well as everyone else they will meet. As they grow, it can become not only a bad habit, but one that could get painful awfully quick. If you don't want a nippy puppy that always bites hands and feet, don't tease them with these things. If they gravitate towards nipping at you, don't giggle and think it's cute, say "No" firmly and give them something they CAN chew. Be consistent with this! The habits you encourage when they are in their biggest imprint period will continue past the imprint period.
5. Not putting limits on following you
People always worry about separation anxiety AFTER they've created it in their pet.
How do you subtly, over time create anxiety in your pet about time spent apart, whether you've just left the room or are gone for hours? Never working on boundaries and limitations in the day to day.
This looks like limiting when they are allowed to follow you around. For example, every time you move, your pup should not be allowed to jump up and follow you. Tell them to go back to "place" and stay. This is realistic training that will impact their state of mind concerning coming and goings, allowing them to remain calm about distance, rather than feel anxious and always needing to be involved.
Practice times throughout the day where they can see you but can't have you, as well as working on them staying where they are when you get up to leave.
Curious about how to teach the 'Place' command? Here's a great video!
This whole concept extends to when you leave the house -- as Cesar Millan says, "Don't create drama over leaving them." Watch this short video & read the caption to better understand what frame of mind and habits are created by the way you leave your dog.
6. Giving attention or affection when they're anxious
There are plenty of things you learn while raising kids that can be applied to raising a dog, but comforting uncertain, afraid energy is not one of them.
Example: You turn on the blow dryer and they scramble all over you, hiding in your arms. What you shouldn't do is allow them to stay there, petting them and talking to them in the baby voice, and abandon blowdryer training and say they were too afraid so you'll just towel dry them for the rest of their life. "Affection is a reward. By comforting a fearful dog, you are rewarding what it’s doing in that moment: being scared. You cannot explain to a dog why it shouldn’t be scared, or tell the dog that the frightening thing won’t hurt it or is going away soon — they do not have the cognitive abilities to understand those concepts. What they do understand is, “I’m terrified and it’s getting me a reward. My humans wants me to do this.”"
This doesn't help them move forward or have freedom over what intimidates them. This keeps them stuck in an anxious mindset, reinforcing fearful behaviour. "Dogs don’t need love when they’re fearful; they need leadership."
Dogs are emotional for us as humans, but truly, the last thing they need is for us to emotionalize experiences for them. That's not something the dog kingdom does, and it communicates unstable energy, and an inability to lead. What an anxious dog DOES need is for us to take our time, be patient, and most of all, provide stable leadership. "We can’t tell our dogs that everything is going to be okay with words, but we can definitely show them with our actions and energy."
What's something you used to do with your pup that you're proud of changing and doing better? Drop us a comment!
"Confidence doesn't come from doing things "perfect", it comes from the repetitions of trying." - Steve Del Savio
-The RLD Team
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